The Green Dress
by Microsuede Mouse
Summary: A brief moment, before their evening undercover, when Cassandra emerges wearing that lovely little dress and asks the boys what they think. Jake has a little trouble answering.


For context: I watched and loved the first season of this show when it was new, but then I lost track of it in the sea of shows to watch and university life with limited access to cable. Recently I picked it back up and binged the first season (as a refresher) and then just carried on. I stopped right after "And the Infernal Contract" a few nights ago to jot this down, but I forgot to post it because I immediately got sidetracked writing something a bit longer (still in progress). I'm about halfway through season three by now.

I really love this show, and as often happens when I'm depressed I have become irrationally addicted to it and it's basically the only thing I think about, so I have a lot of things I want to write. So y'all get to reap the benefits of my obsession, I suppose. I can promise that one longer fic I mentioned because it's already almost done, but there'll probably be more after that. See you soon. (sunshine emoji)

[cross-posted to AO3]

* * *

Fussing irritably with the suit Jenkins had given him, Jake glanced up as Cassandra emerged from the back room, and he nearly dropped the obnoxious chauffeur hat.

She wore skirts and dresses nearly every day, but he'd never seen her in anything like this. The little seafoam-green evening dress hugged her hips and showed off her slender arms in a way that she rarely did by choice. "What do you think?" she asked, giving a nervous twirl. Jake briefly noticed her beautifully coiffed hair before his eyes caught on the backs of her legs and he nearly couldn't drag his gaze back to her face in time.

"I think Jenkins will be the luckiest man at the party tonight," Ezekiel told her, the grin and wag of his eyebrows absolutely effortless. Jake would have been perturbed if he didn't know by now that Ezekiel flirted so easily with Cassandra precisely _because_ he wasn't actually interested. It was all friendly to him, all in good fun, and Cassandra knew that too. She smiled brightly.

"Aw, thank you, Ezekiel," she answered, squeezing the impractical little clutch bag in her hands. "Can't say I ever pictured myself in the role of trophy wife, but maybe it'll be fun, just for a couple of hours."

Jenkins came down the Annex stairs, wearing the same suit he always did. "You're certainly worthy of a higher station," he informed her, smiling gently. "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud to have such a lovely companion on my arm for our evening undercover."

Cassandra kissed their mentor's cheek as she came up beside him, grinning at the compliments she was receiving. From behind her, Ezekiel shot Jake a pointed look, eyebrows raised.

Still trying to recover his full composure, Jake coughed. "You look amazin', Cassie," he managed in a quiet voice as he approached her. For lack of any more coherent thought in the face of trying to keep his eyes up on hers, where they belonged, he reverted to what he knew best: art. "The colour is perfect for you. The… the cut, too. It suits you wonderfully."

Her sunny smile didn't fade; in fact it dazzled him. "Thank you, Jake. You look pretty sharp yourself." Had she always been so pretty? (Of course she had, he answered himself, but this was special, and goddamn if he didn't appreciate those legs. He couldn't help it.) He caught Jenkins watching him with slightly raised eyebrows and the faintest hint of a smile, and quickly he returned to his earlier grouchiness.

"Can't believe you want me to be the driver," he grumbled. Somewhere in the back of his mind, though, he was grateful for the need to keep his eyes on the road for the next few minutes, something to stop him from staring at her the whole way over. Hopefully he'd manage not to glance at her in the rear view too often. "Let's just go."

* * *

 _If I had a million dollars_  
 _I'd buy you a green dress_  
 _(But not a real green dress, that's cruel)_


End file.
